The present invention relates to a process of applying a protective cover for covering a cast or a wound on a patient's appendage, such as an arm or leg, and especially to a process using a waterproof flexible transparent polymer bag to cover the cast or wound which is sealed with an elongated strip of high cling plastic stretch film.
It is well known that the plaster used to form a cast around broken or severely injured limbs and joints becomes soft and deteriorates when it gets wet. The patient is therefore required to make every effort to keep the cast dry at all times. In addition, a patient needs to make every effort to keep any kind of open wound on the patient's body dry at all times. A patient also needs to protect other types of casts from infiltration of water. A common practice with patients having casts is to cover the outside surface of the cast with a sheet of plastic in an attempt to prevent water from reaching the surface and inside of the cast. This arrangement requires a seal of some kind around the upper portion of the cast bound limb to prevent water from leaking between the limb and the covering piece of plastic. Homemade plastic seals of this type which provide for a seal tight enough to prevent water leakage also result in blocking the supply of blood to the injured limb and, if the seal is loose, water leakage may occur.
The present invention is directed towards a process for attaching a waterproof covering for a cast or body wound of a patient in which the cover is disposable and has a sealing arrangement which effectively prevents water from contacting the cast or wound and also does not stop the circulation of the blood to an injured limb.
There have been a large number of prior U.S. patents for covering a cast or sealing the cover for the cast to prevent the intrusion of water into the cast. Prior U.S. patents which use some type of wrapping or strap to a cast cover can be seen in the Caponi U.S. Pat. No. 4,986,265 for a protective cast cover which covers a cast with a protective plastic cover and wraps the end of the protective cover with a neoprene or foam plastic material to form the seal. In the Rankin et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,911,151, a disposable dressing cover for an arm or a leg provides for a tubular plastic sleeve to fit over the cast and then has one end secured with a strap which is attached by an adhesive. In the Hill U.S. Pat. No. 5,643,183, a waterproof cover for a cast uses a transparent polyethylene bag and seals the distal ends with pairs of strips of hook and loop material. Similarly, the Bellasalma U.S. Pat. No. 4,036,220 has a protective cover and has a flexible collar to form the seal which is attached with hook and loop material. The Kaplan U.S. Pat. No. 2,229,575 has a flexible bag covering an artificial limb which is sealed with a sealing band. The Kelly et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,342,286 provides a water impervious covering for extremities and uses an adhesive strip in the sealing of a flexible covering. The Broucek U.S. Pat. No. 4,363,317 is for a watertight cast cover for protecting a cast which is sealed with a band having overlapping ends forming flaps of hook and loop material. The U.S. patent to Biearman U.S. Pat. No. 4,610,245 is for a medical protective sleeve for a human limb which has a sealing cuff which is wrapped tightly around the limb. In the U.S. patent to Liman U.S. Pat. No. 3,741,203, a protective covering for an injured limb forms a seal with wrapping tape. In the Norvell U.S. Pat. No. 5,016,622 an immobilizing orthopedic cast is made of an inner water-impermeable protective sleeve next to the skin and a resilient padding layered with a plastic or resin or glass fiber outer immobilizing layer. In the Couri U.S. Pat. No. 4,523,586 a protective cover for a limb or cast is provided with a sealing band as is the Baxter U.S. Pat. No. 3,324,580. In the Delao U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,953, a wound cover is formed with a flexible sleeve sealed at each end.
In contrast to these and other prior patents, the present invention is for a disposable cast or wound cover which has a highly flexible covering bag which is sealed with an elongated piece of high cling plastic stretch film commonly used in the packing industry which is self-clinging to itself and which provides a seal to one end of the plastic covering when made with a plurality of overlapping wraps.